Berseria Stories: The daemon hand and the daemon eye
by VelvetTheCrowe
Summary: VelvetxRokurou. Rokurou can't stop thinking of Velvet. Velvet is becoming annoyingly aware if Rokurou. A story of love built on respect and revenge. Starts shortly after meeting Grimoire and follows the course of the story, so be forewarned spoilers! Adult content. Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Berseria or its content.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey everybody. I'm writing this story because I love the potential of Velvet and Rokurou. They were so different but still similar in the best ways. Tales of Berseria was my first Tales game and so far its, in my opinion, the best at creating deep and complex characters. I couldn't help wanting to add to their story. Please review! I'd love to know what you think!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters or any of the game based plot. I do not have any claims to the Tales of Berseria game content.**

It was on a cool Autumn day when the Van Eltia came into port. Velvet and her crew of misfits were heading to Logress, to meet with the head of the Bloodwings in the tavern in town. Velvet was glad to get off the sea and onto dry land. It's been a while before their group had rested without feeling the constant rock of the sea underneath them. Though having a pirate crew at her beck and call was amazingly convenient, Velvet had to admit she wasn't a fan of the sea. She always felt more weary after a day on the open ocean than one spent on land fighting daemons all day.

As soon as the bridge to the port had dropped, an excited Laphicet ran off the boat, beckoning the rest of the gang to follow. "C'mon, Velvet! Let's get going!" Velvet sighed and mumbled to herself "What's got him so excited?". "I imagine the boy is looking forward to getting the book I ordered for him on the black market," replied Rokurou. Velvet jumped in response, not realizing that anyone had been close enough to hear her. In fact, now that she was looking over her shoulder she realized just how very close behind her Rokurou was. Her chest tightened, nervous by the small distance between them.

It had been like this a lot lately. Velvet was constantly feeling anxious when Rokurou got too close, which seemed to happen more and more with each passing day. _What is wrong with me, _Velvet thought before swallowing down those nervous feelings. She focused instead on what Rokurou had just said.

While turning and stepping back to put some distance between her and the swordsman, she growled "What black market book?". Rokurou laughed his carefree laugh and held both hands up in his common I-come-in-piece gesture. "Woah, easy. The boy wanted another book in the old tongue. He says there's only so much of the language that he can learn from one book. But here's the thing, books in Avarost aren't exactly easy to come by. So I sent a Sylphjay ahead requesting one such book to be found by the Bloodwings and in exchange, I'm at their service for one favor. They were more than happy to oblige." Rokurou smiled at Velvet with an innocent grin until she sighed and he was sure she wasn't going to kill him for going behind her back.

"Fine. He can have the book , but under one condition. Grimoire has to read it first to make sure its contents aren't...unsavory. Just because he lives with daemons doesn't mean there aren't things the boy should be protected from," Velvet declared before stepping off the ship.

Rokurou stayed behind, chuckling under his breath. He suspected she might be a little miffed at him for getting Laphicet anything off the black market but he also knew that once she saw his excited little face that she'd give in. He planned on it in fact. Despite Velvet's cold, controlled exterior, Rokurou knew that Velvet was warm-hearted and kind on the inside. He could see the humanity inside her daemon shell and the more he saw, the more intrigued with her he became. He had suspected there was something different between Velvet and your average, run-of-the-mill daemon and he imagined that her humanity was key.

Eizen passed Rokurou to get off the ship and gave him a light pat on the arm. "Didn't your mother ever tell you not to play with fire?", he asked. "Ehh, I guess I missed that lesson," Rokurou snickered while his eyes still lingered on Velvet's messy braided hair swinging as she walked.

The rest of the mismatched gang spilled off the boat and into Port Zekson. Dyle wandered off in search of more food, under a large hooded cloak of course, and Benwick was sent on a mission to find more ore for Kuragane, as everyone thought it best the headless piece of armor not go walking around town by himself. Laphicet led the main group to the doors to the Danann highway, followed closely by Velvet, Rokurou, and Elanor with Magilou and Eizen leading up the back.

As they exited the port through the door, Velvet took the lead, forcing the excited Phi to take a safer position in the middle of the group. Rokurou snickered to himself, again amused to see Velvet's motherly nature leak through her hard exterior. Soon, though, it became obvious that the Danann Highway seemed to be no place for little Phi this day. The daemons seem to pour out of every shadow, bush, or tree. No one knew why the road had become so saturated with daemons, so suddenly, but the group had little choice but to plow through the hoardes to get to Logress.

It must of been the twentieth battle in a row when Velvet realized just how wrong this scene seeemed. Lycanthropes, witches, trolls, and nagas were attacking the group at the current moment but none of these daemons should have been there. These enemies were all standard in areas far from the capital and the fact that they were now here worried Velvet.

As Velvet considered these odd changes, Rokurou saw a Naga sneak behind her. He screamed her name but she couldn't hear him. The Naga beast was preparing to poison Velvet when Rokurou came crashing down on the Naga's head. Velvet whipped around just in time to watch the swordsman perform his Form 0: Sunder attack on the beast. Velvet cursed under her breath that she didn't see that Naga earlier. As Rokurou looked over to check on Velvet, a giant club whacked down on him. The troll that Rokurou had left behind to reach the Naga before it hurt Velvet had chased after the distracted swordsman and swiped when he was at his most vulnerable. Rokurou's body dropped to the ground like a heavy stone.

Upon seeing the troll smack Rokurou, Velvet had therionized and began slashing at the ugly creature with her demonic claw. She screamed a blood curtling scream as she raked her claw against the troll over and over until it fell. Velvet ran over and fed Rokurou a gel to keep his health from falling critically low.

Rokurou returned to battle and the rest of the enemies soon fell. "C'mon, let's get to Logress before night falls", Velvet commanded. Everyone glanced quickly over at Rokurou before continuing on. Rokurou knew that they were wondering if he'd even make it to Logress being that stupid to loose track of an enemy he was fighting. As he sighed in responce, little Phi came bounding up to him. "Are you alright?" Phi asked, worried. "Yeah, thanks kiddo," Rokurou responded with a pat to the boy's head. "I saw what happened," Phi continued. "You were trying to save Velvet. I think that's nice. But I think Velvet had a plan. She looked like she was going to perform a spinning kick to get both enemies at once." "Of course she did", Rokurou grumbled under his breath. Velvet was rarely snuck up on and she certainly didn't need his help in battle. He knew that. But he couldn't help keeping her in his sights and jumping at the chance to protect her. Despite the fact that he recognized and respected that she didn't need protecting, his drive to protect her grew stronger with each day. He knew it was stupid considering she was so often the one coming to his aide.

Finally after hours of continuous battles, the motley crew arrrived in Logress. "I'm going to go enhance my armor," Eizen said. "I think I'll tag along, if that's alright", Elanor added. "My spear could use some care." Eizen nodded in response. "Well I'm going to go get Magilou's Menagerie a gig while we're in town. A little extra gald couldn't hurt." Magilou and Bienfu turned in search of a poor soul who would pay them to perform. That left Rokurou, Velvet, and Phi. "What about you?", Velvet turned and asked. "I'm good. I need to find out what favor I'm going to do for the Bloodwings anyway. The kid wants to get the book, doesn't he?" Rokurou said as he looked down at Phi's excited face. "Alright, to the tavern we go," Velvet declared.

As they arrived in Logress's tavern, Tabatha - the head of the Bloodwings - ushered Velvet's crew upstairs. Velvet noticed how busy the typically dead tavern was. People filled every corner with drinks in hand, many of them being upstanding citizens. Once in a room above the tavern, Velvet asked, "What's going on here? You're rather busy here, aren't you?". "That's why I called", Tabatha explains. "You see, there seems to be an overabundance of daemons outside of town lately, as I'm sure you've noticed yourself." Velvet gave a look at Rokurou. "The increase of daemon activity is driving more people to drink and the Abbey is not a fan. My little establishment is no longer able to keep a low profile. I need you guys to figure out what's causing the overwhelming numbers of daemons and to fix it. For the people's sake but also to ensure the Bloodwings organization can stay alive in the capital." The old woman crossed her arms. "And in return, your next favor or information comes at no charge."

Velvet put her hand up to her mouth quizzically. "We'll do it under one condition. This is a tall order. You'll owe us three free favors. To compensate us for all this work." The head of the Bloodwings knew better than to negotiate with Velvet. She was right, this was a big ask worth more than one favor. "Agreed", Tabitha said with a sigh. "You're free to rest here tonight but I must insist you maintain a low profile in front of this group of patrons," Tabatha said as she was preparing to leave. Laphicet looked crushed. Rokurou spoke up, "There's still the matter of our agreement, Tabatha." She turned. "Oh that's right, the book. Hold on a moment." She left, moments later returning with a book in one hand and a folded paper in the other. She went to hand the book to Rokurou when he shook his head. "Nah, that's the kid's now." Tabatha nodded and handed the book to Laphicet before handing the folded paper to Rokurou and saying, "My favor." He nodded and she opened the door. "One more thing", Velvet said. "Can we get some Mabo curry for the kid. We'll stay up here to keep low but the kid needs to eat." Tabatha nodded and left the trio alone in the room.

Moments later, Tabatha came up with a big bowl of Mabo curry. Laphicet set himself up in the corner of the room with the book propped up around the bowl so that he could read and eat at once. "Don't get too into that book! I want Grimoire to read it first." "Awww, but I can't even read much of it! Can I just look through it a little?", whined a big-eyed Laphicet. Velvet sighed a "fine", causing Rokurou to chuckle. Rokurou flopped down on a bed and opened the paper, reading it quickly before folding it back up and putting it inside his kimono. Velvet watched, expecting Rokurou to reveal what this mystery mission was but instead he silently walked over to Phi. He asked Laphicet how the book was and patted his head when Phi replied excitedly with an "Amazing!". Rokurou then walked past Velvet into the hallway and a curious Velvet couldn't help but follow, making sure to close the door behind her.

Wordlessly, Rokurou made his way down the hall heading to the hidden back exit in the Tavern they just recently found. Velvet grabbed his arm before he could open the floor hatch, causing Rokurou to look at her curiously. She didn't know why she grabbed him and she didn't have any idea why her hand remained on his arm. Finally, she pulled away saying, "Where are you going?". He smirked slightly as he crossed his arms and cocked his head. "Why do you care so much?", he replied. Velvet took a deep breath and answered "You're not running out on the debt you owe me, are you?". A dark aura took over the swordsman as his honor and word seemed to be in question. "You questioning my vows?", he hissed. He went on to explain that he was heading out to take care of the Bloodwings request. "Better sooner, rather than later, right?"

Velvet didn't like the thought of the swordsman taking on the request alone so she suggested he wait for Eizen or Eleanor to come back and watch Phi and that she'd go with him. "What about Magilou? She could watch the kid," Rokurou suggested with a smile. Velvet clicked her tongue and looked away, saying that the kid would be better off alone than with Magilou. Rokurou laughed and agreed to Velvet's terms. He was more than capable of doing this job alone but it was rare to have an opportunity to be alone with Velvet and he couldn't help but jump at the chance.

An hour or so later, Eizen and Eleanor came bursting into the tavern's upstairs room, laughing hysterically. Velvet responded to this with a, "Well, aren't you two having fun?". Eleanor blushed a deep red, fiddled with her skirt, and then completely changed the subject by asking Laphicet about his book. Velvet and Rokurou both lifted an eyebrow while Eizen rubbed the back of his head. No one was really offering an explanation as to why those two were so buddy buddy.

"Well, since you two are getting along so well, the kid is all yours to watch for a few hours," said Rokurou as he bent both arms resting his hands behind his head. It was such a Rokurou pose and Velvet had to hold back a laugh as she noticed that. Everyone else looked over at Rokurou, confused, to which he only responded "Bloodwing errand" and starting walking out the door. Eizen started to make a comment about how Velvet would just keep an eye on the kid before Rokurou quickly turned, grabbed Velvet's arm, yelled "Oh yeah, and I'm taking Velvet. See ya!". Rokurou ran, dragging Velvet along the corridor to the trapped door. He opened it and readjusted his grip on Velvet, grabbing her this time by the hand, interlocking his fingers with hers. "Ready for an adventure?", he asked with a smirk on his face before leading her down the tunnel under the tavern and towards the unknown.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Please review if you like or have any constructive criticisms.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Tale of Berseia or its content, characters, or plot. **

"So who's our target?" Velvet asked with a hand on her hip as she followed a relaxed Rokurou through the Davahl Forest. He sighed, knowing she wasn't going to like it. Killing him wouldn't be a problem for her but knowing what damage he already has gotten away with would eat her up. "He's a consul-rank praetor who's pretty corrupt. I've heard his name around town before. Octavious Curr. He's dipped his toes in a lot of horrible things but word is that now he's promising young girls a cure to the daemonblight. All they have to do is sleep with him and he'll give them a vial of the stuff". Rokurou heard the telltale sound of Velvet releasing her therion claw from its bandages. She was seething with anger. He could tell without ever turning around what she was feeling. Though he hated Velvet's torment, he knew this rage would prove useful later.

"How has word not gotten out that he's a fraud?", Velvet asked through gritted teeth. "Well, that I don't know for sure. That's why we're meeting a Turtlez out here. Though they mostly sell goods, some Turtlez will offer to find information for a price. We just have to find the right one. The one I know about led me to the kid's book and when I checked in with the shopkeeper before we left it was to find out where he's set up."

Velvet was impressed with how well-planned this seemingly impromptu errand was. She couldn't wait to find this guy and deliver her own personal justice. She hated the Abbey for giving this creep the power and authority he used to exploit these girls. She hated Artorious for creating the Abbey, an institution built on lies and corruption.

Velvet was still in her own reverie when Rokurou put his hand on her shoulder. At his touch, her heart began to race, immediately bringing her back to the here and now. "Velvet, we'll get this guy. And we'll get Artorious too when we're ready. One step at a time." Velvet got lost in Rokurou's eyes as he promised her justice. She snapped back to realize that these moments of lost control she was having were happening more frequently.

Rokurou reluctantly pulled his hand off her shoulder, mentally berating himself for touching her again. She was like fire - lovely and mesmerizing - but he knew one of these times she would burn him for getting too close. He was actually shocked that it hadn't happened yet. He had become more bold with each time he got close without getting torched and now he was starting to feel downright confident. He knew though, that he was pushing his odds and, once he got burned, his whole life would go up into flames. He couldn't risk her kicking him out of the group. He couldn't imagine what he would do without her and the kid. Although he left Titania with one and only one purpose, he had more goals nowadays. The most important being to keep Velvet and Laphicet alive.

Rokurou turned away and continued walking, now in silence. Before long, they came across a Turtlez in uncharacteristically dark clothing leaning against a large rock. "It's Dark Turtlez. He's known for providing more services than most Turtlez. He's definitely the guy for the job", Rokurou explained before going up to the little guy. "Hey Dark Turtlez" Rokurou said as he flanked him on one side. Velvet took the other side, leaving him no outs with his back against the wall.

"Heyya, guyz. Whatz can i do for yaz?", asked the Turtlez anxiously. "We could use an extra pair of ears," responded Rokurou. "Alrightz, whatz can i be hearing for yaz?" The Dark Turtlez started to sweat, clearly nervous of Rokurou. Velvet held back a laugh as she thought of Rokurou being considered scary or threatening. To her, he was the opposite: comforting and happy-go-lucky. Rokurou told the Turtlez that Curr was their person of interest and specifically his lucrid demonblight cure operations were their concern. The Turtlez hesitated to take the job. "You seez, Octaviuz Curr is one of the realz powerful onez. Hez gotz a lotz of protection. Not a lotz of peoplez or daemonz will talk, ya seez. Fraidz I can't helpz yaz."

The Dark Turtlez made a move to leave and in a flash Velvet's daemon claw was around his neck, pining the Turtlez to the rock behind him. "Well you see, that's not gonna work for me. You see, I will have Curr's head or yours. I don't really want yours but someone will be subject to my rage and I have limited control over who that will be. Are we clear?", Velvet hissed. Rokurou laughed out loud saying "I would listen to her if I were you," snickered Rokurou.

The Dark Turtlez changed his tune suddenly. "Alrightz, alrightz! Callz off yourz hound! I'll do itz!" The Turtlez spoke to Rokurou as if he was the leader and Velvet was just his henchman. Before Velvet could even react, Rokurou got in the Turtlez face and growled "Don't call her a hound, you pond scum. She is worth your respect!". Rokurou's daemon eye glowed and his voice turned gruff. His reaction was so surprising to Velvet that she forgot how angry she was on her own behalf. "Okayz, okayz! I'll givez ya a discontz as my apologiez. Givez me two dayz. Meet mez in Gallez Lake. I'll havez whatz ya needz." Rokurou and Velvet watched the Turtlez go before heading to Stonebury to find an inn.

A tired and ragged Velvet and Rokurou arrived in Stonebury shortly after nightfall. There was only one room available at the inn but Velvet was too worn out to care until walking into the room and noticing the one small bed. Velvet suddenly realized that she would be sharing not only a room but also a bed with Rokurou. She suddenly felt like pre-Therion Velvet, the bashful villager girl who struggled to look a boy her age in the eyes.

She was brought back to the day she was prickleboar hunting in the Morgana Woods and literally ran into a young, blonde haired blue eyed man from Tallesin. His name was Rigel, she vaguely recalled. They had spent the afternoon talking about all manner of things before he departed with a kiss on Velvet's cheek and a promise to visit Aball soon. She had just turned 15, he was 17. He was the first person to make Velvet consider "love", the romantic kind, as something she could feel. But the days passed and the daemonblight spread and Rigel never came back to visit. Velvet considered now that he likely fell to the deamonblight at some point and could have easily been one of the hundreds of daemons she ate or slaughtered along this journey. She felt that she should have been sad or remorseful but she knew no love was lost anymore. Therion Velvet was nothing like cute little villager Velvet, playing house with her broken family. She was not the same.

With this thought, Velvet took a deep breath and realized her previous moment of vulnerability was nothing more than a faint, ghost-like memory. She couldn't feel those things anymore. There was no room for love in a shell stuffed so full with hatred and despair. She took her tattered black coat off and hung it over the back of the chair at the desk. She proceeded to sit on the bed and take off her muddy boots.

Rokurou watched, baffled at how little Velvet seemed to care about the one bed, even though the boys and girls had always bunked separately in their group. Rokurou noticed that the strong and willful Velvet had a slight shake to her hand as she became more and more exposed. Her voice quivered slightly too as she told him she was tired and going to get some sleep.

Rokurou smirked and decided to call what he imagined was a well-crafted bluff by Velvet. He turned towards the lantern on the desk, blowing the fire out and plunging the room into darkness. Velvet could hear the creaks of the floor as Rokurou drew closer but she couldnt see anything anymore. She heard the ruffling of clothes falling to the floor. She felt the bed move under the weight of a new presence. She held her breath, unsure of what came next.

Rokurou had taken off his kimono and armor, leaving him shirtless with only his black pants left. He climbed into the bed, very careful not to touch Velvet, who was turned with her back towards him. He listened closely, waiting for her to start breathing again and get comfortable. Just as she was starting to feel safe, Rokurou took a single finger and drew it down her back, starting at her neck and following down her spine until reaching the criss-crossed latice of red lacing that led to the covered part of her lower back. He continued dragging that one teasing finger up and down, crossing over any exposed piece of skin on her back it could reach. Rokurou knew Velvet was awake, but he also knew she was pretending to be asleep, resisting pulling away, or screaming, or beating the crap out of him for the sake of the ruse. Velvet was going mad with emotions as she lay there, quiet. At first she was unbelievably angry at him for waiting until she felt safe to attack but within seconds, she felt a pleasant shiver take over. The foreign touch felt warm and comforting within a minute or so.

Her desire to stop it weakened with each passing minute and before long she wished it wouldn't stop at all. Her breathing grew ragged and, just as Rokurou began to pull his hand away, Velvet grabbed his hand, pulling him over her and turning to lay flat underneath him. As she pulled him over her, his face drew close enough to see her face for the first time. Rokurou looked shocked, utterly unsuspecting. Velvet looked at him in a way he had never imagined she would - with desire. Her eyes glistened with want and expectation. Rokurou never knew that she could feel as he did towards her until that moment. In that moment he knew. He knew that her inaction at the times he touched her, or flirted with her, or toyed with her were not moments of withheld distate. Her fire didn't burn him because she didn't want it to.

Suddenly, Rokurou pulled away and climbed out of the bed. Velvet couldn't see him but she could hear him gather up his clothes and walk out the door. She was stunned. He just spent minutes taunting her, teasing her, bending her to his will and in the moment she gave in, he gave up. Shock became anger and anger became sadness. Soon she realized that becoming a therion didn't change anything. She was still that sad, longing fifteen year old girl waiting for her handsome knight to come sweep her away. But this time, she wasn't waiting for Rigel. It was Rokurou making her feel this way. How could a daemon make her feel so unbearably human?!

Rokurou had left the inn that night, unable to finish what he started. He began idly walking through the deserted town of night. It seemed as if all the people in town, and even the animals, were gone, leaving him alone with his thoughts. He had always felt like one of these days he would push Velvet too far and she would say no. He never expected her to say yes and he hadn't yet prepared a response.

It wasn't that he wasn't serious - he was - but he never even considered the consequences of going down down that path. He knew he could hurt Velvet. Not because he wanted to but because love is as painful and thorny as it is wonderful and smooth. His love could break her.

She was already so close to ruin from loosing her brother, becoming a deamon, being locked up by Artorious, and loosing to Artorious during their first encounter. Any one of those things independently could have destroyed a lesser woman, but she managed to take on all of those tragedies. He suddenly remembered that she was just sixteen. In her little life, so much pain was thrust upon her. In his twenty-two years, nothing compared. Sure, he had a tragedy or two of his own but no single incident was equivalent to what Velvet faced.

He thought for a moment of what their chances might have been if they never befell such tragedy. If they were both normal humans in a world without blight. Some villagers would scoff at a guy his age going after a girl a few years his junior. Some would scoff at a perfectly common village girl being wooed by a Rangetsu warrior. His family would object, passing her off as a needless distraction. No, one thing was clear - they only had a chance because of their tragedy. Their pain and misfortune put them together in a way that never would of happened otherwise. It freed them of their obligations and their doubts. Age didn't matter, nor race, nor background. Because they were daemons, they could love in a way so unlike the way they would love as humans.

But should they love? What if she was interested but not serious, as he was? What if she felt tormented or guilty by being loved or happy? What if they tried it out but they just couldn't last?

As it was now, Rokurou had a family, a purpose greater than the one he started with, and a light fighting through the darkness to reach him. He could keep these things by keeping the status quo. He could continue to love Velvet from afar. Though he knew immediately that this was not really an option. He grew in boldness and desire every day. He couldn't hide it forever.

Could he stop? Could he just give up? He knew quickly this was not an option.

So what was left? He figured that, with no perfect options, that he was better off risking some pain and heartbreak for something good and real. But would Velvet feel the same?

He stayed out all night, thinking of a way to broach the subject with Velvet during the next chance. He worried relentlessly about leaving her, not sure what the right move was in that moment. He could of stayed. He could of kissed her. He could of devoured her very being. But as much as he wanted her, he wanted something real with her - not just a fling. Him leaving was for the best, but would Velvet see it that way?

After hours of contemplation and worry Rokurou fell asleep by Stonebury's little pond, grateful that as a daemon he couldn't feel the cold. Velvet didn't sleep much at all, however, as she worried about the things unsaid between them.

She had half a mind to track Rokurou down and eat him. She wanted to beat the bastard up. She also wanted to kiss him, a feeling that was more clear to her than ever before, though she suspected this wasn't the first time she desired it. She knew that Rokurou had become something wholly confusing to her. Nothing ever made sense around him, even when everything made sense.

When morning came, she knew they would have to talk about it but dreaded it with every fiber in her being. He clearly saw. He saw her desire, her passion, her feelings. She couldn't take it back. Slowly, Velvet dressed and made her way out of the inn. She found Rokurou at the edge of town. She knew his silhouette anywhere.

As she approached, she found he was reading a letter, postmarked from the Dark Turtlez. To get all the information they wanted in a timely manner, he would need help, the letter said. It went onto explain he was talking with one source in Yseult but another in Port Zekson might prove useful. Rokurou glanced over at Velvet, and looked away a little too quickly, and asked if she was up for going.

I promised to help on your errand, didn't I?" Velvet responded with a slight flick of her loosely braided hair. She began walking out of town and towards the Aldina Plains before Rokurou had even returned the letter to the folds of his kimono. He tried to keep up but soon realized that Velvet was intent on staying ahead of him. She clearly wanted her space.

Rokurou followed Velvet through the daemon infested Plains, keeping to his own space and battles but maintaining an ever watchful eye on her. But before long, the beasts were too numerous to fight alone. Velvet was surrounded by deamons and more just kept coming. Rokurou fought through the crowds to reach her and once they were together, hoardes of daemons began to fall.

Rokurou and Velvet were amazing when they were together. They knew each others every move. Rokurou would duck just as Velvet's boot blade flew through the air where his head was and crashed into a wolf's head. Her blades moved with such swiftness that he occasionally marveled at his ability to get out of the way fast enough. There were still a few daemons left when, suddenly, they fled. All beasts ran out of sight.

Velvet looked over at Rokurou, confused. Rokurou realized this could only be caused by one thing. "Dire foe," he whispered. As if Rokurou called him forth, a giant red-haired, dark-skinned monkey seem to appear out of thin air. Rokurou knew that dire foes were manageable with the whole gang but Velvet and Rokurou alone would struggle. These guys were no joke.

As if it were just any other foe, Velvet got to work bringing down it's health. She let her deamon claw rip threw the monkey but got whacked hard and thrown across the field in response. Rokurou used a Mystic Arte, allowing Velvet enough time to recover her health. She hopped back into battle, unfazed.

After a half hour of nonstop battling, the monkey still had a good amount of health but Velvet and Rokurou were running low. They needed to end this quick. Velvet set up to perform a Mystic Arte but the monkey had learned to attack before the arte came out. The dire foe lunged his head forward and bit, sinking his teeth deep into flesh.

But it wasn't Velvet that the foe caught, it was Rokurou. He knelt before her, blood streaming from his chest and stomach, where the monkey's k9s did the most damage. "Rokurou, hang on!" Velvet screamed as he struggled to stay conscious.

The rest of the battle was a blur to them both. The dire foe went down. Velvet, now with a dislocated shoulder and a gash in her thigh streaming blood down her leg, picked up Rokurou and threw him over her shoulder. She dragged them both to Port Zekson's door. She used a discarded wheelbarrow and boxes to push Rokurou into the city disguised as merchandise. Velvet knew they'd never make it to an inn with Rokurou bleeding all over the place but the woods were no place to fix him up. Velvet managed to get an inn room and sneak Rokurou inn without too much hassle.

She laid Rokurou out on the floor so she could evaluate his wounds. He was asleep at this point, but breathing. She dressed his wounds, fed him a few grape gels, and then passed out beside him.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Please review if you like or have any constructive criticisms.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Berseria or its characters, plot, or content.**

Rokurou woke up with Velvet's jet black hair falling into his face. "Urgh," he moaned as the pain in his abdomen hit him like a ton of bricks. He looked around. He was on the wood floor of an inn, laying on his back. His kimono was ripped off from the torso up and a bloodied bandage was wrapped around his chest and stomach. Velvet was asleep next to him, with her long black hair loose from her braid. Her bandaged daemon hand rested on his chest. She looked remarkably peaceful despite the gash in her thigh, the bruise on her shoulder, and the scrapes all up and down her body. Rokurou gently brushed her hair behind her ear and smiled at the thought that she was alright.

Velvet began to stir and a moment later her eyes fluttered awake. For a brief second, she smiled and snuggled into Rokurou after seeing it was him. But then her eyes flew open as she realized just in what position she was in. She jumped up and onto her feet. She headed over to the bed and sat on the edge, trying to avoid Rokurou's gaze while acting cool and collected. Rokurou tried to sit up but hissed as his abdomen objected. Suddenly, bashful Velvet was no longer there and the strong, nurturing Velvet had taken her place. "Let me help you," she said as she put his arm around her shoulders and helped him to the bed. He propped himself up on the bed and told her to take care of her leg, which was now scabbed and caked in dried blood.

"Velvet, why did you take care of me before you dealt with your own injuries?" Rokurou asked inquisitively. "Well you were a tad worse for wear," she responded with her back to Rokurou, as she cleaned up her thigh. "Yeah, but you coulda just left me out there. I was ready to die. It was likely that I would die. You didn't need to haul my unconscious ass all the way here. It clearly wore you out or you wouldn't have passed out next to me," Rokurou added.

Velvet threw down the rag she was using to clean her leg and turned to look at Rokurou. Her hands were on her hips, her eyes were narrowed, she was fuming. "That's crap! You _know_ I wouldn't have just let you die out there!", she screamed. "Why?" Rokurou pushed. "Because I need you," Velvet responded. "Why? Because I'm your blade?" Rokurou nudged even more.

Velvet took the bloodied rag and chucked it at Rokurou before closing the gap between them. "Because you're important, you ass," Velvet said while pushing into Rokurou's bare chest. Rokurou mentally noted that she was careful to avoid his bandaged parts.

She turned, about to go back to what she was doing when Rokurou grabbed her hand. "Why am I important, Velvet?" She turned back to Rokurou. His eyes were pleading with her. He needed to hear it. But she wasn't sure she could say it. She turned back away and returned to cleaning her leg, with a new rag this time.

"You're important to me because you give my life meaning", Rokurou said tenderly. Velvet froze with her back still facing Rokurou. "Ya know, all my life I've only ever wanted one thing. I still want to reach that goal, I'm not giving up on it. But since meeting you, I have so much more that I want. I want you and the kid to be safe. I want you to meet your goals, whatever they are. I want to love you and I want to wish for a day that you'll love me", Rokurou said with his eyes locked on Velvet.

Velvet turned around slowly, her eyes watching Rokurou as if he were a predator and she was his prey. "But you left last night", Velvet said, terribly confused by his words after his past actions. Rokurou laughed a nervous laugh. "Well, yeah. I honestly expected you to rip my throat out for teasing you", Rokurou said. "I never imagined an alternative. So when you looked at me like that - so willing - I ran so I could figure out what to do next. I wasn't sure if I should tell you or not. I didn't know how you'd take it knowing I wasn't just teasing you and my motives were not so shallow. I didn't just want you in that moment, I wanted you for every moment. I wasn't sure if what I wanted was okay. But I thought about it and figured, if we can't live life the way we want as daemons, then what's the point to living at all. So I want to give us a try. What do you want?"

Velvet didn't answer right away. In fact she didn't move at all in what felt like forever. She thought about every reason that she should walk away and turn Rokurou down. She wasn't living for herself anymore, she was living for poor dead Laphicet. Her life was on borrowed time, she was living for just long enough to take Artorious down. Being with Rokurou could cloud her judgement, could keep her from making necessary sacrifices, could destract her from her goals. The attachments she had already made with Laphicet and the others were already a burden to her goal. Could she have another?

Suddenly, she flashed back to Rigel kissing her on the cheek and walking away, never to be seen again. Not once in her life, her _real_ life, had she taken a chance. She didn't dare love because she had a duty to her brother. And it made no difference. They both still died. Laphicet died to never come back. She died to return as this. This body was different, as was this mind and heart. She was a shadow of who she used to be. And yet still, she froze at the thought of taking a chance, of putting duty on the backburner for a moment of bliss.

At that thought, Velvet knew what she wanted. Her lips crashed down on Rokurou's, forceful yet tender. She put an arm around Rokurou pulling him close. As her knees grew weak, she climbed up on top of Rokurou, who was still propped up in bed. Rokurou quickly ran his rough hand up her back and neck before entangling his fingers in her hair to push her body closer to his. He parted her soft lips with his eager tongue, deepening their kiss. She ran her hand up his neck and rested it at his jawline. Velvet melted into Rokurou and for a moment it wasn't about her duty or vegence. In that moment, her life was about this - being with Rokurou in this passionate moment.

Rokurou was driven mad by the sudden touch and closeness of Velvet. His head filled with Velvet. Her smell - like lilacs and blood. Her taste - like a sour apple, sweet and tart. Her touch was the best of all. She was softer than he ever could have imagined. And he was right, she was like fire - her hands left a burning trail wherever they touched.

Rokurou never wanted this bliss to end. He wanted more and more of Velvet. But his wounds ached and he knew he wanted to take this slow. He wanted this to last. He gently pushed Velvet away. "I don't think this broken body can handle much more, as much as I'd love to keep going," he gasped. Velvet pulled away to climb off Rokurou but he loosely wrapped his arms around her, keeping her seated on top of him.

"Is this what _you_ want?" Rokurou asked breathlessly. Velvet wrapped her hands on either side of his face and rested her forehead on his. She swiped the hair covering his daemon eye up and out of the way so she could look him in both eyes. "I won't give up on killing Artorious. I will kill him and I might die in the process. I won't apologize for that or change that. But until then, I want you by my side. Can you live with that?"

Rokurou nodded his head slightly. "I can live with that. You know, I might die taking on my brother or helping you take that Artorious bastard down too. Can you live with that?" Rokurou mimicked Velvet's question. Velvet laughed and nodded. "Sure, but you're not allowed to die at the hands off some stupid dire foe. You got that?". Rokurou laughed and agreed.

Velvet reluctantly got off of him and directed him to get dressed. They needed to get back to the task at hand. "If you're up for it, we should go talk to this guy that knows about Curr. The faster we take this bastard out, the faster we can get back to our real goals," Velvet said as she fixed her now terribly undone braid. Rokurou replied with a "Yes, ma'am!", laughing hysterically at the dirty look that got him from Velvet. His chest hurt with each laugh but he couldn't help it - he was just so damn happy. _When was the last time he felt like this?_, he wondered. He sooon realized the answer was never. Velvet was the first dream he had that ever worked out. He would do anything to protect that.

Velvet and Rokurou headed out of the inn to the rest of Port Zekson, feeling a sense of deja vu as they were only here a few days ago. They arrived at the most bustling part of town. Velvet and Rokurou split up to start asking the townspeople for the whereabouts of Furaad Buck, the man the Dark Turtlez mentioned in his letter.

As Velvet was talking with an old woman about their mysterious informant, Rokurou came up behind her and grabbed her hand. This was not like the times he used to grab her hand, quickly and with a rough pull in whatever direction he wanted to lead her. This was tender and sweet. His hand entwined with hers and pulled her into him. He didn't let go either. He seemed satisfied absentmindedly tracing tiny circles on her palm with his thumb. His touch affected her more than she wanted to admit and she blushed slightly. She turned her head away and took a deep breath to help the embarrassment melt away. She wasn't used to such open signs of affection but she had to admit everything Rokurou was doing made her heart race.

"I found him", he whispered into her ear. His breath on her ear made her shiver. As she looked over, she saw him smiling that easygoing smile. It was only the nervous gesture of his other hand scratching the back of his head that let Velvet know that he too was uneasy but excited about this new way of interacting. Velvet nervously squeezed Rokurou's hand as a sign of approval.

She began to explain to the old woman that she was gonna get going when the old lady began chattering away like an old grandma. "Oh you kids, so young and so in love. I was worried about you, young lady, being dressed like that with all that skin showing. I thought for sure that you'd get into some kind of trouble. But I feel better knowing you have such a fine young man taking care of you. You better keep this one around or another girl will snatch him right up. You kids go off now. Good luck!" The old lady waved after them as Rokurou and Velvet started running off.

Rokurou started laughing hysterically, telling Velvet how lucky she was to have such a fine young man. She went to elbow him in the gut, remembering at the last moment how hurt he was, and deciding instead to give him an icy stare. He smirked, "You know, you better keep a hold of me or else some other woman will scoop me up." Velvet, in her standard ice princess fashion, replied "She can have you." "I think you'd miss me too much," he retorted.

They made their way into one of the storefronts in town and asked for Furaad Buck. The lady at the counter pointed out a scraggly, dirty middle-aged man with dark brown hair, a full beard, and dark eyes. He wore tattered Exorcist clothes. Velvet and Rokurou were on their guard, expecting some malakhim in tow but it seemed like he was all on his own. He guzzled down some booze in a flask as Velvet approached. "You Buck?", she asked with crossed arms. "Well who's askin?", he slurred in response. "My name doesn't matter. But one name matters a lot to me. Octavious Curr. I hear you know him," Velvet responded in a tone cool as ice. "You betcha I do. Tha bastard stripped me of my malak and exiled me. Tis fault I'm like this now", Furaad groaned. "Well then", said Rokurou as he slyly put his arm across Furaad's shoulder. "How would you like to pay him back for such kindness?". "Under one condishun," stumbled Furaad, "let's move this conversating to the tavern." Velvet and Rokurou nodded, leading the drunkard out the door.

In the tavern, Rokurou started buying the tattered Exorcist drinks to get him talking. Much to Rokurou's dismay, the drunk only had eyes for Velvet and would only answer her questions. Anything Rokurou asked just got a grunt in response. After a few drinks. Velvet found out that Furaad was one of Curr's underlings and although he wasnt morally opposed to Curr's dealing, he did expect a kickback. Curr wasn't a fan of sharing the wealth so he had Furaad exiled. Rokurou could tell it was taking all Velvet's will power to listen to him without eating him.

"So, Furaad, how exactly did the whole operation work?", she asked. "Well, ya see, Curr would send us out all 'cross Midgand to find young, pretty brunettes who had lost loved ones to the 'blight. When we found em, we were to bring em to his home in Logress Villa. We brought em there to hear Curr's proposition. 'ose who wanted to take Curr up on his kindness would be kept in the villa a few days before 'ey were kicked out with ratty ripped up clothes and a blue bottle. It was our job to bring 'em to a daemon, tell 'em it was their loved one, and make sure they tried to feed the blight cure to the beast. It always ended with the beaties gobbling 'em up. We had to watch til we knew they wouldn't be back." Furaad was nonchalant about the whole disgusting ordeal. Velvet was seething with rage. Rokurou watched her carefully.

"So what happened to the one's that didn't take him up on his offer?", Velvet asked in a low, grumbling voice. "Well", said Furaad, "depends on how much he liked 'em. Most of the time, he'd let them go but every now and then, he'd find one he really wanted. Those never gots out." Velvet clicked her tongue at this.

"Where's Curr now?", Velvet asked impatiently. "No clue", Furaad said with a flick of his hand. "Haven't seen the bastard since I was exiled." "Well then, you've outlived your worth", Velevet said as she knocked the drunk out by conking him upside the head with a sturdy liquor bottle. "Feel better?", asked Rokurou. "Much", replied Velvet. He got off the bar stool and held out a hand, inviting Velvet to follow. They linked hands and walked back to the inn to wait for word from the Dark Turtlez.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Please review if you like or have any constructive criticisms.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Berseria or its content, characters, or plot. **

Velvet walked into their room at the inn, unsuspecting of Rokurou's intentions. Rokurou followed her into the room and closed the door, smirking a devilish grin. As she walked through the room, unaware, Rokurou grabbed Velvet by the hips, pulled her close, and spun her around. He swiftly backed her into the wall, resting one arm against the wall above her head and trapping her body close to his with the other arm. He rested his forehead on hers, noses touching, and looked at her in a way she's never been looked at before. His eyes were all fire and ice. He froze her and melted her all at once with this gaze. Velvet shivered in anticipation.

"Well, what are you waiting for?", challenged Velvet. With this, Rokurou's mouth crashed into hers. His tongue danced in her mouth in the most hypnotic way. His body pressed firmly against hers. Velvet wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his mouth down harder on hers. Earlier, their kiss was passionate and loving, but now it was needy and fervent.

Rokurou lavished this moment that he had wanted for for so long. He never imagined being with Velvet could be like this but he also couldn't picture it any other way. He wanted this. He wanted her, more than he could ever tell her, more than he even realized.

Velvet couldn't believe she was here, doing this, with Rokurou. When he first joined her on this quest, she never imagined she could grow to like him or maybe even to feel more. She certainly didn't expect her attraction towards him to grow so strong. She remembered very little about him from that first day - he was there but he didn't really matter. _When did he become so much to her?_, she wondered. _And when did he get so damn good at using his body? _She relished every moment of this, only realizing now how long she wanted him. Her need was strong but it wasn't just any need - it was one only he could fulfill.

Velvet grew hotter with every touch and she feared she may burn away if he kept this up. Rokurou's lips finally left hers but they certainly didn't give up. They just moved to her neck where they sucked and his tongue flicked across her skin in a way that made Velvet's knees buckle in weakness. Rokurou caught Velvet as she began to fall. He grabbed under each of her thighs and pulled her up into a straddled position before walking her over to the bed. He threw her onto the bed, rougher than he probably should of, and began taking off his armor. "Aren't you still hurting too much?", Velvet asked meakly. Rokurou flipped his hair to the side, showing off his daemon eye. "Yeah, except I'm a daemon and I heal fast", he replied gruffly.

He climbed over Velvet, who was laying patiently for him on the bed. He guided her long black coat off her shoulders, with his eyes hungrily eating up every ounce of newly revealed skin. He returned to her mouth, kissing her hungrily again. When they both ran out of air, he sat straddling her and began to slowly take the bandage off her daemon arm.

At this, Velvet pulled her bandaged hand back. "You don't want to do that, you know. I keep it wrapped for a reason," Velvet said as she protected it. Rokurou wouldn't give up, though, and pulled her arm back towards him. He began kissing her un-bandaged upper arm. "Except you're forgetting one thing", Rokurou replied. "I love you. _All of you_. And I want _you_. _All of you_." With this he began unwrapping her bandage again, this time with his teeth. His teeth grazed her skin every so slightly as they ripped layer after layer of bandage from her skin. Her flesh toned upper arm faded into a pitch black lower arm with deep red veins crisscrossing across her skin. But her hand, despite its off color and the way it transforms, was undeniably human. Feminine even. He gently kissed each finger as it was uncovered, making Velvet feel for the first time like this arm wasn't such a bad thing after all. When the full bandage fell onto the bed, Rokurou entwined her black fingers in his.

Velvet used this opportunity of stillness to flip Rokurou so that he was now laid out flat on the bed and so that she held the controlling position on top. "Well now you have me all exposed while you are still fully covered. That hardly seems fair," Velvet said with a grin. She opened up the top of his kimono, gently feeling his bandaged wounds for tenderness. He grabbed her hand as it traced over his bandages tentatively, worried. "I'm fine, Velvet. Better than fine, I'd say", Rokurou laughed.

Velvet took that as her permission to go wild and be bold. She smiled and bent over to kiss his now bare chest. She ran her fingers up and down his side as her lips made their way up to his neck. She paid him back for all he did to her.

She kissed everywhere she could - his ears, his neck, his collarbone - before she ran out of exposed skin. All the while, Rokurou was running his calloused hands over her body in maddening ways. She pulled Rokurou up into a seated position so she could slip the sleeves of his kimono off and expose the rest of his upper body. Rokurou took advantage of this new seated position, grinding into Velvet while caressing her chest. She moaned and closed her eyes. She had given up being in charge for the satisfaction of being pleasured.

Rokurou unclipped and unlaced her shirt to grant him better access. The human part of Velvet suddenly felt self-conscious and shy but the daemon part of her reveled in this new experience. Rokurou's mouth worked in expertly satisfying ways on her skin. He felt almost as much pleasure as she did just from watching the way he got her going. As a human, Rokurou never prioritized these feelings. Even if he did, it probably wouldn't have felt like this. He knew this felt so good because Velvet was not just any women. She had been the _only_ woman on his mind for so long.

While Rokurou's mouth was busy with her chest, his hands slid across her inner thighs, rubbing against her thin black shorts. At this, Velvet felt a sudden wave of pleasure. Her dark hand grabbed Rokurou's back, digging her nails into his skin. At first, it felt good - just rough enough. But as Rokurou continued, Velvet's therion hand suddenly and unintentionally let loose. Her daemon hand dug deep into Rokurou's back and began to drain him of his power. Rokurou instantly felt his energy leaving and he collapsed onto Velvet after a few seconds.

"No!" Velvet screamed at her daemon hand as if it had a mind of its own. It did seem to in that moment. But as Velvet's ecstasy faded so did the daemon hand, returning to her normal hand at will. Rokurou's cold body was on top of her. He wasn't dead but she could tell those few seconds had sucked a serious amount of energy from him. She flipped him onto the bed and shook him, slapped him, and kissed him in her attempts to bring Rokurou back into consciousness. It was her crying, though, that woke him. Tears streamed down her face and onto his chest. The cold tears made him gasp and he shot up, his color returning. Velvet, still shirtless, immediately hugged him. He hugged her back and pet her head as she let it all out. When she had calmed, he looked at her deeply, kissed her, and said "You ate me" with a smirk and a laugh.

"I know. This was a mistake. We can't do this again. Loving you is a mistake. I destroy everything I touch. I'll destroy you too", Velvet said in a surprisingly calm and strong voice. She pulled away but Rokurou wouldn't let her go. "No", he said firmly. "No?", Velvet asked, confused. "You are allowed to decide you don't like me or you're not attracted to me, but you are _not_ allowed to decide not to be with me because you're the Lord of Calamity. I don't care if you destroy things, you won't destroy me. And I'm not giving up on this amazing thing between us because of a little hiccup", Rokurou said in a nonchalant manner.

"A little hiccup?! I almost killed you!", Velvet exclaimed with her arms crossed in front of her still bare chest. "Yeah, you did. But you didn't. You controlled your power and stopped. I'm sure you'll get better at it", Rokurou said confidently. "Look, Velvet. You were sixteen when you turned into a daemon and then you spent 3 years in a dungeon. I'm guessing you didn't really fool around with the village boys before either because you were too focused on your sick brother. Am I getting this right?". Velvet gave him a dirty look that he took to mean he was right on target. "So you don't exactly have a lot of experience with how you're body will react to all this. Neither do I, for the record. So we'll just have to give you experience to build up your tolerance. Practice makes perfect", Rokurou said with one eyebrow raised suggestively.

Velvet considered what he said and it all made logical sense but this was all so out of character for her that she didn't know how to respond. "Velvet, give us a chance. Please. And I promise you we'll figure this out - all of it. But we could die any day now and I can't die without trying this thing out. I'll regret it. So if you would regret it too, then let's give this thing a real shot."

Velvet considered ending this right here and now but for the first time, she felt like she might have something to live for post-Artorious. When he was dead and gone, Rokurou could give her a new goal to live for. She agreed and Rokurou's normally casual smile broke out into a beaming smile. He kissed her, sweetly, on the temple as she gathered her shirt and put it back on.

When she was dressed again, she looked at Rokurou again and added her own contingency. "Rokurou, we can do this but only under one condition. We need to keep this thing between us a secret. I can't have Eizen or Eleanor or Magilou, especially Magilou, seeing me as weak or vulnerable or as uncommitted to my cause. I can't have Artorious find out about you and try to use you against me. And I can't imagine how Phi will take this. The hand-holding, kissing, and anything more have to be kept for times we're truly alone. That amenable to you?"

"Are you embarrassed of me?" Rokurou asked with mock hurt. Velvet gave him a dirty look and a scowl. "Okay, okay", he said with his arms up in a I-Give-Up pose. He laughed. "That's probably for the best. It will make me have to keep my hands off of you. Otherwise, I would just be all over you all the time.", he admitted. He wrapped his arms around Velvet, running his hands all around her body. "But we're alone now.", Rokurou reminded her. Velvet laughed happily and began kissing him, a sweet, loving kiss. Rokurou could get used to this.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Please review if you like! I like hearing your thoughts or criticisms!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Berseria, it's characters, content, or plot.**

The next day, Rokurou and Velvet made their way through the daemon hoards to meet back up with the Dark Turtlez. He waved excitedly at their arrival but a tenseness around the mouth made it apparent that he wasn't actually that happy to see them. He was happy to be done with them. It didn't bother Velvet much - she hasn't been that good at making nice since becoming a daemon - as long as the Turtlez had the information she wanted.

"Heyyaz! How waz the tripz?", greeted the black-clad Turtlez. "Cut the small talk. Do you have a location?", Velvet cut in with an annoyed eye roll. Rokurou snickered. "Yez, yez, o'courze. Well I'z hope your chatz with the guyz here waz helpful. I'z don't really haz a location az he'z been underground az certain memberz of the Abbey haz been investigatin' him. But I do haz informationz on where he'z gettin' new women. Perhapz you couldz go undercoverz to get takenz to hiz hideout", explained the Turtlez as he nervously scratched the back of his head. He winced when Velvet uncrossed her arms, clearly expecting to be hit.

"I was hoping for more than that", Rokurou grumbled as he rubbed his chin. "Well, I guess we have no choice but to dress you up like bait, Velvet.", he concluded. Velvet scowled, pissed off at the way this was turning out. Rokurou just smiled his carefree smile in response. "It's to save the girls, Velvet. Just imagine - he picks you up and suddenly all those girls stop getting whisked off the streets.", Rokurou said convincingly. She knew he was right and she'd have to do it to protect those girls but she didn't have to like it. She grunted in a way that only Rokurou realized was agreement.

"K, Turtlez, buddy. We'll take whatever info you got. We'll pay handsomely for your services, of course.", Rokurou said. The Dark Turtlez told them that his informant noticed a recent string of missing village girls in Lothringen. There's been a few who were last seen talking to exorcists before they vanished. He was likely to be found hiding out around there. Rokurou paid the Turtlez and they headed to port to hitch a ride across the sea to Lothringen, stopping on the way in Reneed.

Before they could go on to Lothringen, they needed to first dress Velvet up like the village girl she no longer was. But her old garb wouldn't do. She needed to be eye-catching enough to catch the attention of an exorcist but low-key enough to look like a desperate villager with limited resources. Velvet and Rokurou went to a clothing merchant in town to buy their disguise.

Rokurou was all too keen on picking out Velvet's clothing. Everything he picked had a plunging neckline, a silk or lace, and terribly suggestive dress slits. Velvet had no clue why he was so intent on getting her to try those things on considering her normal attire wasn't exactly conservative. She began to ignore Rokurou's suggestions altogether, instead looking at the more commonplace clothing.

As she looked through the piles of clothes, she found a purple dress that was reminiscent of her childhood friend Niko's dress. The dark purple sleeveless sheath dress needed a long sleeve shirt underneath to cover her daemon arm, but it'd work. She found a pair of white fashion gloves to hide her daemon hand and brown boots for her feet. She even found a garter she could use for hiding a knife in her impractical-for-fighting garb. Velvet bought the clothes and they quickly went to the inn for her to change.

When fully dressed, Velvet braided her hair in a long tight braid like she used to. She looked at herself in the mirror and felt a strange sense of loss. This is what she might've looked like by now if her life hadn't gone awry. After a minute of mourning, Velvet reminded herself that she had Rokurou now - she wasn't alone in this world.

She walked outside the room to find Rokurou, who still hadn't seen villager Velvet. She waited with baited breath as he saw her, not sure whether or not she wanted him to like how she looked considering this was not _her_ look. He walked over, smiled, and began fixing a flower in her hair. She nervously waited for him to comment. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, "You're pretty damn cute but I prefer _my_ Velvet." Velvet took a deep breath, relieved. He somehow knew exactly what she wanted to hear even when she didn't.

Velvet and Rokurou left Reneed separately, with Velvet walking the cleared paths and Rokurou following in the shadows. They didn't want to be seen together in town to protect her cover. They also suspected the exorcists may be keeping tabs on women coming into town as half of the women who disappeared were travelling through Lothigren. This meant that Velvet had to maintain her cover on the trails by avoiding or running away from daemons instead of taking them on. By the time she made it to town, she was already annoyed with this cover.

As she made her way through town, she made a point to ask a bunch of people in town about a daemonblight cure. She asked people if the Abbey had a cure, knowing the answer was no. She asked if any herbs or medicines brought people back. After an afternoon of crisscrossing town, she made her way to the tavern for a meal. She didn't need to eat, didn't even like it, but she needed to do it to look human. She acted as if they were always watching because they could be.

After a meal that disintegrated into blood in her mouth, an exorcist sat down across from her at the table. "Can I help you?", Velvet asked meekly. "I hear you're looking for some help with the daemonblight problem.", the exorcist whispered. His face was covered with a mask like all of the other low-ranking exorcists. Velvet couldn't see his face but she could sense the devious smile behind his offer.

"Oh yes! Thank goodness! Do you know something?! Any leads would be greatly appreciated!" Velvet felt that Rokurou was watching somewhere and laughing at her very un-Velvet-like performance. But the important thing was that the exorcist was buying it. He directed her to meet him in the alley out back in a few.

Velvet obediently met the exorcist in the darkly lit alley, all the while questioning what normal woman would do this. _This is so obviously sketchy. Nothing good could come of this!, _Velvet thought. The exorcist told her to follow him to the man that had all the answers.

She was lead outside of town, to a small house in the Burnack Plateau. There were a squadron's worth of small-fry exorcists outside. Velvet's guide exorcist opened the door for her but did not follow. She walked in to a room lit by fire-light. A black shadow sat in a big cushioned chair. _Curr_, Velvet spat his name in her head.

Octavious Curr stood and walked towards a motionless Velvet. He was a middle aged, blonde-haired, blue-eyed man with a bit too much of a gut for an exorcist. His crooked teeth made any smile of his look malicious. He wasn't in his exorcist clothes but he did wear a white tunic, as if to portray innocence. Overall, he was untemarkable and unattractive. _No wonder he needed to trick women to get laid_, Velvet thought.

"I hear you are in search of a fix for the daemonblight. I may have a solution for you, but you see I can't just give it to anybody.", Curr said with a creepy grin on. "Oh please, sir. I need a cure. It's my brother! The daemonblight got to him and if I can't save him, he'll be killed by the others in town. Please, spare him.", Velvet cried, laying it on perhaps a bit too thick. "Well you see, I could part with some of the cure... if I got something in return.", he said eyeing her up and down. He reached for the neckline on her clothes, probably to show him a little more skin.

At that moment, Velvet grabbed the knife hidden at her thigh and thrust it up, through his outstretched arm. He screamed. Blood gushed. "Oh, you'll get something in return alright", Velvet said, in her normal huskier voice.

The exorcists posted outside rushed in at Curr's screams and swears. It was then that Rokurou appeared behind them, slashing the majority down before they could even reach Velvet. She took out a few with her blade, not even bothering to release her daemon hand until Curr was the only one left. She grabbed him with her daemon claw but Rokurou put a hand on her shoulder, asking her to let him do it. "It's my errand. I agreed to do it and I am a man of my word."

Velvet nodded in understanding and walked out of the little house. There was a single scream before the forest plunged back into quiet. Rokurou emerged from the house, cleaning the blood of his swords. As he returned his duel swords to their sheaths, he gently cupped Velvet's face with his calloused hands. "He didn't touch you, did he?" Rokurou's voice sounded harsh and strained. "Of course not. What do you take me for? A defenseless little village girl?", Velvet asked, almost offended. When she saw the relief on his face, she realized that he was worried. But he never tried to hold her back - he just held it in. Velvet didn't know what to say.

After a minute, Rokurou composed himself and the pair returned to the inn in Lothigren. It was too dark to head back at this hour. Velvet walked into the room and flopped on her stomach on the bed, suddenly feeling drained from today's events. Rokurou came over and climbed atop her, whispering in her ear that he'd help her get a little more comfortable.

First, he unbraided her tightly braided hair. He ruffled her now wavy hair before moving onto her back. His hands focused on unbuttoning her dress and opening it up just enough to expose her back while leaving the rest of her covered. It was then that he surprised Velvet as he expertly began massaging her back and shoulders. As his hands explored her back, so did his lips which kissed up and down her back. Everything about him was pushing Velvet's tiredness our of her mind, making another feeling far more prevalent.

She flipped herself over and gently cupped Rokurou's face. She meant to kiss him but she paused, suddenly caught in his eyes. Rokurou's eyes were mesmerizing, and not just because one was a daemon eye. His daemon eye, surrounded in the black swirls on his face, should have been terrifying. It usually was when it glowed with fury in battle. But now, it's red glow was softer. His human eye was a deep amber in color. It held all of his feelings within it. Velvet could see in his eyes how he felt about her.

Velvet realized that she underestimated his feelings for her, without even realizing it. She thought that Rokurou considered her with the same carefree nature that he had for everything else in his life. But she suddenly knew that he was serious about her. He was far more serious than the villager boy, Rigel. He was even more serious about her than Arthur was about Celica - and their love was the strongest Velvet ever saw.

Velvet gasped, suddenly terribly uncertain about her own feelings. She worried they were not as strong. She worried that she was keeping Rokurou from another girl, one who was not so likely to die on him. She worried he couldn't handle her eventual death. She worried more that he couldn't hide his feelings for her - a weakness Artorious would be sure to exploit.

She pushed Rokurou off of her, a little too forcefully, causing him to fall on the floor. He groaned, rubbing his banged head. "You coulda just said 'no', y'know. I would never force you to do something you didn't want to Velvet. I'm not like that guy Curr", Rokurou said, visibly hurt by her forceful rejection. "I know. It's not that!", Velvet tried to assure him.

"Rokurou, how long have you felt this way for me?", Velvet asked sullenly. Rokurou tilted his head, confused by how her tone didn't match her question. "Is this too much for you? We can slow down. Whatever you want to do, Velvet", Rokurou replied, evading her question. "That's not it. Just how long?", she asked. "I don't really know, for sure. We left Titania together as strangers with a shared goal. Sometime shortly after that, you became to me like the sun is to a plant. I oriented myself towards you. Drew my energy from you. Was intricately connected to you. Why?" Rokurou asked with growing worry.

"I want to change back into my real clothes. Can you leave?" Velvet said suddenly. Rokurou sighed and stepped outside the inn door. He sat down next to the door, on the outside. Rokurou began talking through the door. "Velvet, I don't know what suddenly has you so freaked out but I want you to know that if it has to do with us, you don't have to worry. You don't have to know how you feel about me and you don't have to do anything with me. I just want a chance to get you to feel about me as I do for you. If it doesn't work out, that's fine. If you want to call it quits, that's fine. If you think I'm a hindrance and want this to stop, that's fine. But if you're worrying about the future by yourself, that's not fine. C'mon, let me in."

A now red and black clad Velvet opened the door. "Come in." Velvet sat on the bed as Rokurou hovered by the door. "I think you love me more Rokurou.", Velvet said abruptly. "How long have you thought about me like this Velvet?", Rokurou threw the question back at her. "I don't know. A few weeks? You're relentless closeness started driving me mad.", Velvet scowled. "Well, there ya go! I've loved you longer. Just give it time. Give me time.", Rokurou flashed a carefree smile. Velvet rolled her eyes and climbed into bed, patting beside her. "Okay, okay. Let's get some sleep."

Rokurou happily jumped into bed next to Velvet. He fit his body into the curves of hers and held her waist to keep her close. He sighed happily. They fell asleep that way, resting for their return to their group.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thanks so much for everyone's comments and views so far. I hope I'm doing all these great characters justice so far. So fair warning, this chapter answers a few questions I had with the game. It is by no means part of the regular story but rather my interpretation of the game so I hope you guys like it. Please review with comments or criticisms!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Berseria, it's characters, content, or plot.**

"They're back, they're back!", yelled an excited Phi pointing to Velvet and Rokurou as they walked through town up to the group. Magilou bent over and whispered to Phi, "And it looks like you finally have the mommy and daddy you always wanted, kid". Laphicet looked up, confused at Magilou and asked what she meant. She just laughed and winked, keeping her real meaning to herself.

Eizen and Eleanor did not hear Magilou, thanks to her whispering, and certainly did not pick up on whatever magic the witch used to see through the swordsman and the calamity lord. They greeted Rokurou and Velvet as the always would as Laphicet bounded over to Velvet. He first ran up to her with open arms as if to hug her but stopped a few feet short, putting his arms behind his back and saying "Hello Velvet" in the most composed voice he could. Rokurou smirked at Laphicet's futile attempts to seem older and more manly than he was to Velvet. Rokurou suddenly felt racked with guilt. He knew the kid had a crush on Velvet and he knew how hard Phi was trying to be seen as a man by her. Rokurou couldn't help but think it cute, though he knew Rokurou had crushed all his boyish dreams over the past few days, even if the boy didn't yet know it. It was probably best that he promised Velvet to hide their relationship from the group - he wasn't sure poor Phi could handle the heartbreak.

"Well isn't it nice of you two to grace us with your presence?", chimed in a smirking Magilou. Velvet waved her off. "Well, while you two were doing God knows what, we have found out some interesting information regarding the heavy daemon presence around here. Care to here it?" the bouncing witch continued. Eizen took over explaining from there. "It seems despite the unusually high presence of daemons in this area there seems to be a drop in daemon sightings on the other continents." "Well, that's interesting. Could the excess of daemons really just be a daemon migration?" Velvet asked as she quizzically put a hand up to her chin to think. "Maybe the daemons are planning a party? I hope so. I could use a good rager," Rokurou added. Velvet gave Rokurou a dirty look and a punch in the gut (which was thankfully fully healed by now). Rokurou laughed as Laphicet asked Eizen what a "rager" was and Eizen considered whether answering the child honestly would also get him beat on by Velvet. He decided on a "I'll tell you later" response. As the group considered the rumors, they decided to see if they were true for themselves and boarded up the Van Eltia to head for Yseult.

On board the Van Eltia, life was often dull and monotonous. However, for Rokurou and Velvet this time became some of the most exciting as the ship offered many small nooks to meet in secret. Velvet was now waiting for Rokurou in one of the ships storage closets. He had left a note in her coat pocket telling her where and when to meet him. She felt like Villager Velvet again, waiting nervously and with baited breath. Finally, the door opened and Rokurou rushed inside, closing the door behind him and plunging them into the darkness of the closet.

They couldn't really see each other but that didn't matter. Rokurou's mouth found hers like a magnet finds another magnet. His hands easily found every curve of her body. Rokurou was clearly hungry for her but to Velvet's surprise she too was hungry for him. She had been watching his lips longingly over the past few hours, recalling how they felt against her skin. She had been hyper-aware of even the slightest of touches in the last day or so and has even been jealous when Rokurou's touches go to someone else. Now as he was once again touching her and kissing her, a very satisfied Velvet realized with slight horror how much she had already fallen for Rokurou in the last few days. Every day her feelings grew stronger and more intense. In the back of her mind, she worried how this much love and the already intense hate she felt inside her could coexist without tearing her apart. But all thoughts melted away as Rokurou's skillful tongue danced in her mouth.

It was only with much dismay that she pulled away from Rokurou when she heard banging in the room outside their storage closet. Rokurou sighed and quietly whispered "Time's up" in Velvet's ear. The sensation made her shiver. He reached up and cupped her face, more lovingly than lustful, and rested his forehead against hers. "I love this," Rokurou whispered. Velvet smiled and although he couldn't see her face he could feel it. "This is a good way to pass time at sea," Velvet responded. She actually laughed in response - a reaction that seemed almost foreign to her it was so long since she last did so. Rokurou laughed softly with her before reluctantly turning to go. Velvet had to wait ten more minutes in the dark before leaving to prevent anyone from seeing them together in any way. Keeping this a secret was certainly a pain but it was also terribly exciting.

With a faint smile on her lips, Velvet walked to the ship's deck where she found Eizen at the Captain's wheel. "Almost there?" Velvet asked, once again the calm and cold Lord of Calamity. "Probably another half-a-day or so," Eizen replied. "Hey, have you seen Rokurou? That bastard was supposed to bring me a drink like a half hour ago! What the hell is the hold up?" Eizen grumbled from his lack of alcohol. Velvet shrugged coolly. "Haven't seen him. Knowing him, he probably got caught up playing with Laphicet or talking to Kuragane," Velvet said, feeling satisfied with her lie despite knowing that he was in fact caught up playing with her. Minutes later, a laughing Rokurou with a gleeful Laphicet riding on his back came running on deck, threw a bottle of booze at Eizen, and ran back below deck. Velvet felt even more satisfied with her lie as Eizen grumbled how she was right, of course.

Once in Yseult, it became apparent that the rumors were in fact true. Though the south never seemed as affected by the blight as the northern continents, it seemed now like there were no daemons left on this continent. Velvet's crew walked all the way to Palameides Temple and back to Yseult docks with only two daemon encounters - both of which were small fry. It was almost like the world had reverted back to its state 3 years ago. You could almost imagine it. Velvet found it greatly unsettling and reached for her daemon hand whenever the illusion felt too real.

It was back in Yseult that the group got their first whiff of what happened. In the lobby of the inn, Eizen overheard whispers of the "magic gas" used to lore daemons from close and far. The townsfolk seemed to know about a "test" that drew all the daemons away from Southgand but couldn't or wouldn't divulge where this test of the magic gas was or who was performing it. But one thing was clear - the people of the Southern continent counted this as a blessing and didn't much care about the repercussions for Midgand.

"I betcha it's some skeevy underground group that's behind this "magic gas" nonsense," Magilou commented as she sat on a bench, swinging her legs and sucking on her candy. "Yeah, like the skeevy underground group we're currently working for?", Rokurou said laughingly, while stretching his arms behind his head. Laphicet immediately jumped in to defend the Bloodwings. "Tabitha's group isn't skeevy! They help people, especially those who the Abbey refuses to help! Nothing they ever asked us to do was skeevy!", Laphicet yelled.

Velvet gave Phi a sisterly pat on the head that Rokurou could tell Phi resented. Phi just wanted to be a grownup, and have a real relationship, but he didn't realize that Rokurou was actually a bit jealous of Phi's childish love. Phi's love was pure and clean, while Rokurou's love for Velvet was clouded and dirty. It's not that he didn't sincerely love her - he very much did - but his love was infected with passion, desire, and lust. His love was corrupted so that every pure emotion was followed by a lusty thought. Watching Velvet smiling happily made him happy but it also made him want to attack her. He found in the short time they had been together, she had set him ablaze and no amount of water could cool this heat he felt. He wondered what it would be like to just love Velvet without aching for her this way, before deciding everything he had with Velvet was way better than any pure love could ever be. He smirked at the thought.

"Yes, Phi. The Bloodwings help people but never forget the have their own motives too. Helping people alone doesn't make you the good guy. Look how many people we've helped and I'm still known as the Lord of Calamity. There's no such thing as good and bad. It's all perspective. Magilou may be right that this is the work of an underground group. Rokurou is also right that they might not be much different than the Bloodwings. What's important is their perspective," Velvet mused.

"So let's say in their perspective, they are the good guys. What does that mean for their motives? What does that tell us?" Velvet asked to the misfit group circled around her. Eizen, unsurprisingly, was the one to answer. "It means that they're using the 'magic gas' to get rid of daemons in an area or to specifically draw them to an enemy. So it's likely either someone specifically targeting the Abbey by targeting its main hub or they are just trying to get the daemons to leave their land." Eizen rested a hand on his chin as he thought. "Well, the fact that everyone here seems to know about it and even support it makes me think that the goal is the latter," remarked a seemingly indifferent Magilou. "Miss Magilou might be right", added Bienfou.

"So the goal might be to clear out Southgand, assuming that is why all the residents here know about it. But if that is the case, how did they manage to use the gas to move the daemons, not kill them? Southgand is an ocean away from Midgand. The nagas could swim and the bats could fly but there is an excess of land-based daemons that moved to Midgand too. How did they cross an ocean unscathed?" Eleanor asked, tilting her head. "Well," Velvet replied, "That depends on what the 'magic gas' does? Is it a deterrent or does it attract the daemons somehow?" "Since there's still some small-fry here, let's assume it attracts them," Rokurou mused. "So if it is an attractant, how could they use it to get daemons to cross an ocean?", Eizen questioned. Laphicet finally spoke up, "What if they took a boat or ship just like we did?"

Phi's idea was immediately dismissed as too absurd to be true by almost all of the adults. It was Rokurou who gave his idea a real shot. "Whoa, hold up. What if the boy's right? An attractant could be used to gather large hoardes of daemons onto a boat where they could be trapped by taking off to sea. They won't attack each other in close quarters because most daemons are too dull for that," Rokurou imagined. "But if that's the case, who's driving the ship? Any human on that boat would be eaten before the boat leaves port!" Magilou added. "What if they steer themselves?", asked Phi.

"Phi, most daemons aren't like me and Rokurou. They're animals, like prickleboars, that act purely on instinct. They don't have will, ideas, dreams. They eat if foods there, sleep if the sun goes down, they do what instinct tells them to. They wouldn't be able to successfully cross the sea," Velvet explained. "Which means we have two options left. Either the one steering the daemon hoards is an exorcist or Malakhim that can handle themselves or the Captain of the boat is like us," Velvet looked at Rokurou as she came to her conclusion. The others didn't notice but Rokurou saw the change in Velvet's eyes. He knew she hated the idea of an intellectual daemon being part of this ploy. He didn't like the odds either.

Rokurou knew that intellectual daemons like himself and Velvet weren't that common. There was likely a higher than average percent of them at Titania, due to how hard they are to actually kill, and even then they were hard to find. From what Rokurou figured, they were only born from great will power or determination. Every intellectual daemon he knew was determined as all hell when they died, Velvet being a great example. It makes these daemons frightening opponents, as their will, logic, and incredible power are a force to be reckoned with. Some daemons could still talk or mimicked human actions but Rokurou guessed these formed a sort of muscle memory to human acts. A real intellectual daemon could plan, think, and act freely. It's what allowed Velvet to be so human despite her nature. It's what allowed me to fall in love with her. A group of intellectual daemons working to transport run-of-the-mill daemons around was a terrifying thought.

"Well, we've made a lot of assumptions but if we're right, there's only one place on Midgand that they would be able to dock unnoticed without riskily killing off large numbers of their daemon cargo. We should go there, set up a stakeout, and learn as much as we can about them," Eizen suggests. The group agrees and heads back to the Van Eltia for their stake out. Velvet and Rokurou trail behind the others, trying their hardest to talk without being noticed.

"This could go south," Velvet murmured. "It could be something else, y'know. As Eizen said, we made a lot of assumptions. Maybe we made a mistake," Rokurou said, trying to comfort her. He didn't really believe it but he did what he could to ease her worries. "If it's a group of daemons like us...that's a formidable force," Velvet replied. "Well then who better to take them on than the Lord of Calamity in the flesh," Rokurou turned his head and smiled. Velvet smirked, more confident know thanks to his support. "True. There's only room for one Lord of Calamity in this world and I'm not done with the title yet." "That's my girl," Rokurou whispered.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Thanks so much for everyone's comments and views so far. I hope I'm doing all these great characters justice so far. So fair warning, this chapter answers a few questions I had with the game. It is by no means part of the regular story but rather my interpretation of the game so I hope you guys like it. Please review with comments or criticisms!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Berseria, it's characters, content, or plot.**

Velvet and the crew of Van Eltia came to port on a small rocky beach on Midgand known to the underworld as The Craggy. The Craggy was on no map for fear of the Abbey getting wind of it – it was purely passed around by word of mouth. It was not much of a port but it was largely unwatched by the Abby which made it a great place for criminal activity. There was only a small area on this beach that you could actually dock a ship and the tattered remains of those who had failed before littered the black sandy beach. Luckily, the Van Eltia was used to treacherous sea-faring conditions and managed to dock fairly easily.

Velvet and Rokurou were the first off of the ship to investigate for any signs of a large daemon horde unleashed through this port. Velvet expected to see footprints all over the beach but was surprised to see not a single footprint anywhere. "Maybe we were wrong," Velvet said while crossing her eyebrows. "Or more likely, we're onto something," Eizen said as he came up behind the two daemons staring at the ground. Rokurou put his hands behind his head and leaned back, waiting for Eizen's inevitable explanation. Velvet turned to Eizen in interest.

"Look," Eizen said as he pointed at his foot. He lifted his right foot up and looked down at the impression he left. His thick boots sunk deep into the sand and left a perfect impression of his sole. Velvet looked again at the sand around them, perfectly even and flat. Eizen continued to explain, "This is a popular underworld port. There SHOULD be footprints. Criminals regularly come here and the sand is like clay, trapping their footprints and keeping them around far after the criminals are gone. So why are there none? There's not even the signs of other natural disturbances that should be around. The Abby doesn't have a clue about this place and most of the underworld are not exactly the brightest. Those small fries wouldn't take the time to cover their tracks. No. It was something bigger being covered up that lead to someone wiping the entire beach clean."

Magilou fluttered on over to listen to Eizen's explanation. "So some, like, big time, hotshot criminal gang lured a bunch of daemons on a ship, probably multiple ships, and crossed the sea with them to dump him here and then they spent , like, HOURS literally covering up their tracks?", Magilou recapped. "What makes you think they're a bigshot gang?" Rokurou asked with vague interest. "Well, obviously, they are. It would take a lot of people to pull all that off!", Magilou exclaimed as she leaned over and flicked Rokurou in the chest. In that moment, Velvet became enraged, filled with jealousy at the thought of Magilou casually touching Rokurou's chest. She quickly clenched her bandaged hand as she felt the vague pulse of her daemon hand before it erupts into the daemonic claw. She squeezed tightly before feeling the pulse fade and breathing a sigh of relief. She didn't realize that her emotions for Rokurou could trigger her this way and she had to try harder to contain them.

Rokurou had noticed Velvet clench her fist, had noted the sudden tightness of her shoulders, and the shallow breath she took. He smirked, secretly satisfied that a touch from Magilou could send her wheeling. But he also knew he had to distract the others to keep them from noticing her tension too. "So where would a big time criminal operation like that hang out? They have to have a home base. Somewhere that gives them connections. Somewhere that keeps them hidden in plain sight," Rokurou prompted. It was little Laphicet who came on over after a rivoted exploration of the ship ruins on the coastline that spoke next. "Well it would have to be a port if they have a ship, right? They are probably bound to the sea just like us." Velvet, newly composed, looked at Laphicet softly. Rokurou could tell that she was not really seeing Phi in that moment, but instead was seeing her beloved little brother. The look quickly faded and she spoke, "Maybe. But the group itself might not have a ship. They could have stolen one or they could have allies with ships. We shouldn't rule anything out." "So what do we do now?" Eleanor asked.

The group decided to split up from the Van Eltia crew. The six of them would go on foot to find the nearest village to rest at and gather information while the crew would sail the Van Eltia away from The Craggy to avoid being seen upon the possible return of the daemon-moving gang. Though there were no major towns in this northern part of Midgand, there were a few small villages to tiny and inconsequential to include on most maps. "Listen up," said an authoritative Eizen. "These villages don't really get people coming in and out of them. They'll likely be suspicious of us from the get-go. So it would be easier for us to get information from them if we were all a bit….subdued looking. Before the Van Eltia leaves everyone needs a wardrobe change."

Laphicet looked concerned. "I won't get to keep my clothes?", he asked sheepishly. "There is no subduing the one, the only, the magnificent Magilou!", Magilou objected. "Even me?", asked Eleanor. "Especially you," Rokurou replied. "Praetor's aren't taken kindly to up here thanks to them largely leaving these small villages to rot with daemonblight. You'll get chased out of town before we ever get through the doors." "Which I wouldn't mind", Velvet replied under her breath. Eleanor was still not Velvet's favorite person in the whole world. She had accepted the inevitability of Eleanor but still took cracks at her when she could.

Eizen held up his hands in objection to the sea of complaints. "We'll bring our clothes along and stash them outside of town. I don't love this either but it's the only way we'll get in. Now there's a stash of extra clothes in all sorts or sizes below deck for just this type of situation. Girl's clothes too, thanks to a few ex-female sailors. Find something inconspicuous. We leave in an hour."

Everyone else had found an alternative outfit from the crate and it was now just Velvet and Rokurou left behind. Velvet was struggling to find anything to wear that didn't make her want to throw up and Rokurou intentionally dragged his feet on deciding in order to sneak a moment alone with her.

"Ugh why does everything have to be so _covered_? I haven't dressed in anything like this in ages," Velvet complained with an audible sigh.

Rokurou looked around to make sure the coast was clear. He stepped behind her and slithered his hands around her slim waist. "I know. It would be such a shame to cover these up,", he whispered into her ear as his fingers trailed up the open strip of her shirt before landing, teasingly on her chest.

Velvet sucked in a breath at the feeling of Rokurou's rough hands on her soft chest. She resisted the urge to melt backwards into his embrace and instead tried to return her focus onto sorting through clothes. "We can't. Not here.", she whispered fiercely. It was true that this room in the back of the ship didn't have a door but Rokurou was confident that the Van Eltia crew was busy above deck preparing to launch and that their friends wouldn't come looking for them until a little later. "Yes, we can. You know when we're back on the road these moments will be less and less frequent. You're telling me that you don't want to take advantage of this moment?" Rokurou said in his most lusty voice. Velvet shivered as she turned to face him. She intended to tell him no, that it was irresponsible, that they would get caught. Instead, she pushed Rokurou into a sitting position and sat astride him, covering his mouth entirely with hers. She loved the taste of him. It was like a drug, sweet and coppery at the same time.

Rokurou matched her force and eagerness with his own as his tongue explored her mouth. His hands drifted up and down her exposed thighs, leaving trails of heat wherever they touched. Velvet moaned and inescapable moan as he touched her, which only made him more excited. He fiercely grabbed her waist and moved his lips down to her chest, leaving a trail of kisses around her shirt line before removing it entirely by untying it with his teeth. Velvet's daemon arm burst free from the bandages as the pulsing in her arm became too much to bare. Rokurou ran one hand down her black and red arm towards her daemon hand as he grabbed her head and kissed her deeply, knotting the other hand in her hair at the base of her skull. She slid Rokurou's kimono off his shoulders as she reveled in the kiss. She popped open his undershirt and crashed her shirtless body against his own, causing Rokurou to be the one left moaning deeply.

It was then they heard the rustle of a Van Eltia crew member coming downstairs. Velvet and Rokurou froze, half-naked behind the crate of extra clothes, hoping that alone could conceal them. Luckily, the crew member was still two rooms away without a direct eyeline to their love nest. "Hey, where is it again?", he yelled on up to another crewmate. Rokurou could feel that Velvet was holding her breath. "Oh, nevermind. Found it!", he yelled again a minute later. He returned to the deck and Velvet let out a sigh of relief. "That was close," she said. "Ahh but doesn't it make the whole thing more exciting? This sneaking around thing is pretty sexy", Rokurou replied with a smirk.

Velvet rolled her eyes. She picked a muted blue-gray dress from the crate next to her and pulled it over her. "Thanks for helping me change," she said slyly before gathering up her clothes and leaving the room.


End file.
